Boy Willie is one of the main characters in the Piano lesson. He's the sibling of Bernice and the nephew of Doaker. He wants to own his own land, and to do so he's selling watermelons and planning to sell a antiquitie piano that has sentimental value to his sister, Bernice. Boy willie is a really loud and energetic man always smiling and giving off a younger spunk than his given age. He doesn't know how to take no for an answer is constantly trying to get what he wants. Prior to returning home to see doaker and Bernice he had gotten caught up with illegal things due to stealing with his friend lymon. Who was the only one who ended up getting caught.
Boy Willies most important line in the book so far is, " I don't go by what the law say. The laws liable to say anything. I go if it's right or not. It doesn't matter to me what the law say. I take and look at it for myself." (Wilson, 39). This line is significant because he doesn't believe in the law. Boy Willie is telling us about something he believes, to with what's right or wrong. Also back then the law was usually against colored people and so it would make sense why he would rely on the law to help him, because even the law wouldn't do the right thing.